Blu3 and Bobi Wine are the only indigenous nominees at this year's Zain MTV Africa Music Awards popularly known as the Mamas. The Ugandan all-girl singing trio got two nods in the Best Performer and Best Group categories while Bobi Wine was nominated for a Best Video award featuring in Kenyan pop princess Wahu's music video Little Things You Do.

Little known South African-base Ugandan artiste XOD earned our third nod in the Best Video category for his highly creative music video to his lacklustre song I

Want You Back.

Blu3 will have to beat off competition from Nigeria's P-Square and D'Banj, Ghana's Samini and Kenya's Nameless to clinch the Best Performer trophy.

Lillian Mbabazi, Jackie Chandiru and Mya Baganda also have to cruise way ahead of Nigeria's P-Square and Mo Hits Allstars, South Africa's Gang of Instrumentals and Namibia's Gal Level for the Best Group award. XOD's race to the lone winner spot on the Best Video podium also has South Africa's HHP (Mpitse) and Da L.E.S. (We on Fire), Nigeria's 2Face (Enter The Place) and Kenya's Wahu featuring Uganda's Bobi Wine (Little Things You Do). Wahu and her Kenyan husband Nameless earned four nods between them including a Best Male nomination for Nameless.

South Africa and Nigeria registered the highest number of nods with 15 nominations apiece. Kenya had six nominations, which was a ringing endorsement of sorts for the host country of the 2009 event. Nigerian R&B superstar 2FACE got the highest number of nods for Best Male, Artist of the Year, Best Video and Best R&B. South Africa's HHP, Kenya's Nameless and Nigeria's D'Banj have three nods each. South African Afro Soul goddess Lira, who is scheduled to perform at the awards, topped the female nominees' list with two nods for Best Female and Artist of the Year.

The enduring appeal of US and British music showed itself in the nomination of five US artistes Kanye West, Akon, Beyonce, Green Day, Jay-Z and the British band Coldplay.

Winners will be revealed on October 10, at the Indoor Arena, Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, at an event that will be hosted by Hip Hop legend Wyclef Jean.

Voting closes on Monday October 5 and details are available at mama.mtvbase.com. Tickets for the award show will go for approximately UShs 41,000 (KShs 1500) standing and UShs 54,000 (Kshs2000) sitting. There will be delayed screenings of the award show on MTVbase and WBS TV from October 17.

Nominees are selected by an independent voting 'academy' of 170 music professionals and opinion formers from 30 countries in sub-Saharan Africa.